


Waiting For You

by stardustsroses



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mating Bond, Smut, Winter Court, post-acotar, vivillias - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 06:49:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustsroses/pseuds/stardustsroses
Summary: Kallias and Viviane’s mating bond story we heard in ACOWAR. This takes place right after the events of ACOTAR





	Waiting For You

Forty-eight years.

It had been forty-eight years since he was taken away from his people. His court.

From her.

For forty-eight years, Viviane had waited. She had tried everything to get him back; she had kept her promise to protect his court. Their court, as he had called it. And every year that passed with Kallias trapped Under the Mountain was another battle lost. A whole year without him felt more like a thousand put together.

But Viviane kept hope safely guarded in her heart. And she had vowed to herself, as she had vowed to him, that she would not lose it – not ever. No matter how long it took, no matter how many decades, centuries…she would get him back. She would have her friend back.

Friend.

Viviane had been a fool not to see it. Not to see what he had felt for her, long before there was a threat in their lands. She had been bling, so, so completely blind, not to see that her feelings had changed, too.

And it had taken Kallias being captured for five decades for her to realize. To know.

Now…as she stared at the endless snowy mountain peaks, a wall of soldiers behind her, Viviane thought that if she had the chance to go back, if Amarantha had never plagued their lands…she would have done everything differently.

***

“Kallias…Kallias, please,” she had begged him. “Don’t go. Don’t leave. Your people…they need you here.”

And Kallias had looked at her, pure agony marrying those icy blue eyes she had known since childhood. The man that was in front of her…he was so different from the powerful High Lord she had grown up with and come to know. The man in front of her was the same young child who cried at the end of his mother’s death bed, the same young man whose hands had shaken terribly as his father’s crown was laid on top of his head for the very first time.

He had taken her face in his pale hands, thumbs tracing her skin, eyes memorizing the contours of her face. And taking in the desperation in those eyes…Viviane broke down. Hot, blinding tears had slid down her face, blurring her vision of the world, and she couldn’t believe – no, she didn’t want to believe that everything was falling apart now. She didn’t want to face the reality in front of her, she didn’t…

She didn’t want him to leave.

Every fibre of her being wanted to cling to him, tell him to stay.

“Viviane,” he’d said her name so quietly, like the breeze between the frozen branches of the trees. Like a snowflake drifting down onto the white ground. A tortured whisper.

She’d closed her eyes, fingers holding tight to his tunic, afraid that if her strength should falter, he’d disappear right then and there.

“Viviane,” the High Lord whispered her name again, brokenly. “I don’t have a choice. She’ll…she’ll kill you. She’ll kill you all, I have to-”

“Stay,” she croaked. “Stay here. With me. With us. We will fight her together, Kallias-”

But her friend had only shaken his head, so slowly. Hopelessness written in every movement.

“There is no fighting this monster, dear Viviane,” he said. “I have to keep this court safe. I have to keep you safe.”

“No-”

“So I ask this one last thing of you,” he blurted, as if the words were falling on their own out of his mouth. “Protect them. Protect our people. Protect our court. Keep them safe. Keep yourself safe, dear Viviane, please-”

The whole entire world had gone silent. Viviane couldn’t even hear her own heart beating – or his. Nothing but broken, horrific, lonely silence.

“Can you do that for me?” He whispered, knuckles gently caressing her cheek.

Viviane had stared at him – at those eyes she had adored for as long as she could remember. A thousand memories flickered through her mind right there, of a fair-haired boy and girl playing in the snow, climbing mountains, falling off tree branches, making snow angels during cold winter mornings. Two young high fae, confessing secrets to each other and sharing funny gossip in the dark corners of the winter court palace. A High Lord and his loyal friend passing notes under the dining table, as if they were still two misbehaved children, hiding grins and inside jokes.

She saw it all.

All she’d had…and all she’d never have again.

But despite the aching in her heart, in her bones, Viviane murmured, “Yes,” she lowered her head, her eyes, to the snowy ground. “Yes, I promise.”

Two warm fingers under her chin that tilted her head up to look into the eyes she had already memorized.

“You,” he said to her, in the plain silence of that mountain top. “You have been the light of my life, Viviane.”

His own eyes were filled with tears.

“I just wish…” his voice trailed off.

“Why are you talking as if we will never see each other again?”

“I do not know when-”

“I refuse to believe that,” she almost shook him. Her teeth were clenched, her fists were clenched, fingers wrapped around his clothes. Her heart, too, was clenching. Hurting. “She will not keep you away from me. I will find a way. I will, Kallias. I will protect this court and I will bring you back to me.”

Kallias had stared and stared at her. A moment, a single moment that seemed to have lasted a whole eternity. His lips parted and closed, as if he was conflicted, as if-

As if he was tempted to rebel and stay, just like she told him. As if he was tempted to be selfish.

But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t risk her safety, nor the safety of the people he had sworn to protect after his father’s death.

And still, Kallias leaned down, and touched his forehead to hers. So warm, she’d thought, he was always so warm. Even though everybody else saw him as cold – not just for his appearance but for his attitude, his way of ruling - Viviane saw more. So much more. She knew what the other courts thought of him – and she couldn’t begin to say how wrong they all were about her High Lord.

Kallias was tender and sweet and loving. He warmed her heart in ways nobody else had. His smile was blindingly beautiful – and it was more often hidden than exposed. But she had known just how to make it appear. She had known his smiles. She had been the cause of many. She had seen the sweet man behind the walls of ice he’d built to protect himself.

She’d seen him at that moment, when he’d leaned down and she could feel their breaths mingling. For a moment, just a fraction of a moment, her eyes had fallen to his parted lips and a small part of her mind wondered how it would feel to lean in and taste him. Wondered how he would taste. Wondered if he would like her to know.

“Viviane,” he’d said again, like he couldn’t get enough of her name. His eyes were closed, his voice low. He then murmured, “I wish I had said this a long time ago. I should have. But I didn’t know…I didn’t want to ruin this.”

Her heart was banging painfully on her chest. She wondered what he thought of it. She wondered if he knew it was because of him.

“Ruin what?” She urged.

“I love you,” he croaked.

His hands were on her cheeks and her own were still clutching to him, holding on, forever holding on.

Her eyes were wide, clear blue facing those lips.

And Kallias continued, knowing fully well he was running out of time, “I love you and I always have. Ever since we were children, I have looked up to you, Viviane. I have adored your smiles and your laughter and every time your hand touched mine, part of my heart died right then and there.”

You’re the light of my life. 

Viviane thought she had died right then and there.

“Kallias-”

“Forgive me,” he said, pulling away.

No, she’d wanted to scream. No, don’t pull away. Stay. Stay.

“I have loved you forever,” he murmured. “It was you. It has always been you, dear Viviane. And if I had known…if I had foreseen the tragedy that’s fallen on us…I would have told you sooner. And if you had allowed me, I would have memorized your lips, for I have been dreaming of them for longer than I can remember.”

She tried to speak. She did. But the words were making up a rope that tied around her throat, making speech impossible, making even breathing seem impossible.

“Stay safe,” Kallias said at last, a lost tear falling from his jaw to the snow below. “You are my life, Viviane. So stay safe. I leave my heart with you. Protect it. Protect our lands. Our court.”

Our court.

Kallias had kissed her forehead, so gently, so briefly, and with one last look, he turned away from her.

“No,” she gasped. “Kallias-Kallias, please, I-“

But Kallias hadn’t turned. He walked three steps, and then he was gone.

He was gone.

Viviane stared at his footsteps imprinted on the snow for a long time. She stared at the spot where he had winnowed from as if she could still see him there – his smiling face, his bright eyes.

I love you.

I would’ve memorized your lips.

You’re the light of my life.

She hadn’t known. She had told herself repeatedly, she had convinced her mind that her and Kallias could never be, for he would be forced to choose a wife of higher rank, and-

He loved her.

After all this time. He had loved her.

Viviane stared at those footprints until her tears had dried out, drops of water frozen on her pale face. She had stared at those footprints until the breeze turned into a harsh wind that erased every evidence that he had ever been there. She stared at the ground until the sun forgot the earth and the moon took its place.

She could still feel the warmth of his lips against her skin.

Oh, Kallias.

Viviane had taken a deep breath. And then she’d turned to the winter court palace.

She would not break the vow she’d made.

She would protect their lands, their court, with her life. She would guard the borders, make sure everyone was safe inside.

And Viviane would stop at nothing to get him back.

***

Indeed, she would have done everything differently. She would have confessed to him everything before he had a chance to turn away. Viviane wouldn’t have chosen to be a coward. She would’ve wrapped him in her arms and she would have kissed the lips that had haunted her dreams and she would’ve told him-

What?

That she had always felt something there, between the two of them? That she craved the smiles he gave her, the gentle touches, the inside jokes, the pranks, the confessions, the secrets? That she wanted him, only him, and she could think of nothing and no one else?

Viviane would have told him so many things in those last minutes.

But fifty years was still a long time. And even though she had taken charge of the Winter Court, even though she had kept her vow to protect them…she felt hopeless and frustrated that she couldn’t have done more.

Sometimes she felt angry, even. Angry at him for telling her. For torturing her dreams. For placing those words in her head that had gone right down to her heart and taken roots.

Sometimes she felt like her world was falling apart.

Like she couldn’t breathe. Like every time Viviane thought of him, every fond memory that came to her, made her heart shatter into pieces and it left a hollow space inside her chest.

Every part of her body seemed to scream at her that something’s missing something’s missing something’s missing.

That demon had taken away half of her heart. And she’d locked him up under the ground. Her Prince of Ice, encaged for mother knew how long, at the hands of that-

But she was strong. And she was hopeful. And she knew – she believed – he would come back. Even if she couldn’t get to him…Kallias would find a way back to her.

She had to believe.

She had to.

***

A year later, Viviane was sitting on the same mountain peak, looking over at the line of soldiers along the border of the Winter Court. This place gave her a perfect view of their surroundings, and it served as a good lookout spot – anything she saw would be immediately reported to the soldiers below. Just an order from her, and they would march on to face whatever threat would be blooming.

But most of all, it also served as way for her to be alone in quiet contemplation. Viviane now knew the stress Kallias had endured all those years as High Lord – she hadn’t envied him then, and she didn’t envy him now. And yet he had always faced every problem with confidence, even pleasure. He had loved his people. His lands. He had loved it all.

He had loved her.

Did he still?

She wondered if he could feel her heart from such a long way. Viviane wondered if he knew it still beat for him, waited for him.

Hours and hours later, and it was almost time for sundown. It was almost time to close the borders and announce curfew. Another day. Another year. Another battle lost.

Viviane turned to walk away-

And then she stopped in place.

A quick, sudden wave of energy flooded through her, like a wall of air had passed by and through her body, covering the land-

She felt it.

Viviane scented the air, felt her surroundings, and raised her sword. From the exclamations below, she knew the soldiers had felt it too. That strange wave. And the feeling that it brought.

Viviane made herself stop and listen. Silence. But something had changed – something had clearly changed, the air felt…

Electrified. Powerful.

No, no, it couldn’t be-

The curse.

The blight.

It had…

Viviane turned to the soldiers below. She turned to see her city slowly waking, slowly turning every light. A pause. And then-

And then there were cheers. There were screams of uncontained joy. There were dances and singing and arms waving in the air, reaching for the snowflakes that fell down, down, into the ground.

Her breath was falling short. Her heart-

And then-then Viviane felt something else. An awakening inside her, a fluttering of her heart, a soft, thrumming feeling deep in her gut. Boots that weren’t hers made a crunching sound in the snow.

And she turned her body. Slow.

Viviane almost felt to her knees.

At the smiling face, at the bright eyes that now stared at her.

The shouts of happiness down below were nothing, meant nothing, sounded like nothing. The world was silent once more, and the only think she could hear was the sound of his heart beating in time with hers and her gasp.

She couldn’t believe it.

She couldn’t believe her eyes-

Before she knew what she was doing, Viviane dropped her sword, dropping everything to the ground and she ran faster than she had in her life.

And she laughed, hysterically, through her own tears, through her own heartbreak, and she laughed and laughed, happy, so happy, at the arms that were now open to receive her after fifty long years.

Viviane fell into Kallias’ open arms, and her strength threw him to the plushy ground, burying them both in the snow.

She held him so tight, so, so tight. And Kallias held her tighter to him, with such strength that she thought her bones would break and shatter beneath his touch. But then he laughed, through his own tears of joy, against her ear, and at the warm breath that she felt against her skin, at the laugh that was so familiar to her and that was so missed, Viviane pulled her face away, just to touch her lips to him.

Kallias gasped underneath her, his hands at her back, clutching tight, pulling her closer and closer. His lips moved instantly against her own, eyes closing in ultimate bliss.

She had waited so long for this.

She had dreamed about it for so many nights.

Kallias’ hands moved up her back, to her shoulders, gently caressing her neck, just to stop at her cheeks. His thumbs made the same gesture as to when he had said his goodbye – so soft and tender – and it broke her completely. Her whole heart shattered for him to see.

And they weren’t smiling anymore.

Kallias could feel the hot tears falling against his cheeks, could hear the sob that escaped her mouth as she kissed him with everything she had. He sat up, taking her body with him, his arms around her, so tight, and yet so gentle.

“Viviane.”

Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, her face buried on his shoulder, her body trembling from shock and sadness and despair and happiness and ultimate joy.

“I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew you’d come back to me. I knew it-” 

He held her for a whole century, it seemed. And it hadn’t felt enough, still. His hands soothed her body, running up and down, slowly, against her back.

And Kallias thought that everything…everything had been worth it. Just for this moment. Just to discover how she felt about him.

“I missed you,” he said. “Every hour I missed you. Every hour I thought of you.”

Then Viviane pulled away, just slightly, to look into his tear-stained face. With heart-breaking tenderness, Kallias leaned in, and touched his lips to her cheeks. Taking his time. Smiling through it all.

“Thank you for waiting for me,” he whispered against her skin.

“I would’ve waited for you until my last breath,” she confessed.

Kallias smiled against her cheek, thinking to himself how impossible and absolutely mind-blowing it felt to be there at that moment, with the female he had loved for all his life, having her in his arms…

All worth it.

He clutched her waist, gently pulling both of them up. He searched her face, her body – she was perfectly fine, safe. She was safe.

“I’m okay,” she said gently, a smile playing on her lips. Viviane touched his face. “We’re all okay. Thanks to you.”

“No,” Kallias shook his head. “Thanks to you.”

Viviane shrugged, “Alright, fine. I may have also been a hero.”

Kallias smiled, a light chuckle falling out before he could stop it. “You certainly were, Viv,” he murmured. “You certainly were. Thank you. There are no words. There are no words for what you have done.”

Kallias looked beyond the mountains, to the city that now danced in celebration on the streets, that were now marked with a hundred thousand twinkling lights.

Viviane watched the scenery with him, coming to hold on to the side of his body. Gods, she had missed him. His scent, his smile, everything.

He looked the same as she’d last seen him. Paler, certainly paler – if that was even possible – and thinner. Considerably. But he was home. He was here, with her. And that was everything that mattered.

“Is it true?” Viviane said, looking up at him. “Is it really over? Is she dead?”

“She’s dead,” Kallias nodded. “The curse has been broken.”

“But how?” Asked Viviane in a whisper. “What happened-?”

But Kallias turned his body to her, touched her waist, and pulled her close to his body. And despite of the cold, despite of the furs she was wearing, Viviane thought she was melting.

“Later,” he whispered. “I will tell you everything. But now…now I want to look at you. I want to taste your lips again. And again.”

And he did.

Several times.

He kissed every inch of her face, every corner – her eyelids, her temples, going down to her cheekbones, her jaw, the top of her throat.

Viviane was clutching his shoulders, her eyes closed and facing the orange-tinted skies.

“Do you know,” Kallias whispered against her skin, in between kisses, “how many times I have dreamed of this? Of having you in my arms, whispering my name?”

“I love you,” she murmured.

Kallias’ entire body seemed to freeze. But Viviane opened her eyes, made herself face him.

“I was a coward,” she explained. “I was a coward because I did want you. I wanted you then, long before everything, and I want you now. I loved you before I even realized it. I loved you, Kallias, I loved my friend and I loved my High Lord and I loved the person who would steal chocolate cookies from the kitchens and sneak them into my room in the middle of the night-“

Kallias counted her every heartbeat as he laughed. And gods, his laughter-

“I’m sorry, too, for not telling you,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry we wasted all that time-“

“We have all the time in the world now, Viv,” he smiled. “All the time in the world.”

Her smile was so much more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. As blinding, as soft as snow.

Three seconds passed. Three seconds in which they stared at each other in complete, utter delight and wonder. As if they were seeing each other for the first time. As if that was the moment they realized-

And answer to a question they’d asked themselves.

Kallias’ hands caressed her waist, so gently. He leaned down, so slowly. And when he took her lips again, Viviane was sure she would catch fire and burn for the rest of eternity with those lips on hers.

He tasted exactly as she’d imagined. Better.

His mouth was so warm, so familiar. His lips had been made for her, it was true. There was no one else in the world, no other lips, that could make her feel like she was floating up, up and up into the clouds. Kallias made her feel like she could forever float and never come back down.

And then his tongue had traced her bottom lip before his teeth grasped it – and Viviane lost all sense of control.

He awakened something deep within her. Something wild, untamed. She wanted to take and take and never stop taking. She wanted everything.

She was just about to tell him as much-

And then Kallias pulled away, his lips red, his breathing haggard. He pulled away and taking her hand in his, he placed it right over his heart. She felt the thunderous beat of it flooding through her, connecting to her own heart that felt too big for her chest at that moment. And Kallias whispered two words, two little words, that had her world spinning.

“W-What?” She whispered in disbelief.

Kallias only smiled. He repeated, “Marry me.” And he said it again, whispered it again, as he kissed her cheek, her other cheek, the tip of her nose. “Marry me, Viv. Marry me.” And then lower than a whisper, right against her lips, “Marry me.”

And Viviane stared at him. At the male who had owned her heart the second he had stepped into her life-

And she thought – worth it. Fifty years had been worth it to hear those words, to see the shining happiness that now painted his icy blue eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Viv squealed as Kallias picked her up, as he spun her around. Holding on to his neck, she buried her face in his neck, chuckling with delight as he told her he loved her, over and over. Like it was a prayer he would never get tired of reciting.

“Oh, Viviane,” he said. “Light of my life-“

Still up in his arms, Viviane tilted his chin up, and she kissed him. Longingly. Putting as much feeling as she could muster into that kiss.

Soon enough, though, she was gripping the hair on the back of his neck, and her legs were wrapping around his waist, as his lips travelled over to her jaw, right to that spot that made her burn and see black spots in her vision-

“Kallias,” she said. “Get us out of here.”

And she nipped at his ear, making sure he knew exactly what she meant.

Without a pause, Kallias winnowed them out of that mountain. For a fraction of a second, all Viviane saw and felt was darkness-

And then Kallias was placing her down onto a warm, wooden floor. She could hear a fire burning somewhere, could smell vanilla and cinnamon. When she opened her eyes, the world consisted of a small, candle-lit hallway she immediately recognized.

She realized she was breathless.

“Your vacation house?” She mused.

“I missed it,” he smirked.

It wasn’t so much of a house as a small cabin with two bedrooms and a kitchen that connected to a living area. It was much smaller when compared to the palace, but Kallias had always felt more at home here. She remembered slipping down the railing of those crooked stairs, running up and down as Kallias chased her with pricks of ice, her squeal as he tickled her skin with them.

She looked at him over her shoulder, a sideways smile gracing her pretty features.

When Viviane walked down the hallway, she could feel Kallias looming presence behind her, following, and again, she felt that tug deep within her, that need-

She stopped in front of a door she recognized as his bedroom door. She paused, looking behind her.

“Go ahead,” he said softly.

Viv opened the door with a soft creak, and she was met with a room warmed by a fireplace, soft fur blankets displayed at the end of the king-sized bed and candles everywhere – on the wooden armoire, the window sill, the nightstands…

Her throat had become dry.

She could feel the warmth of him on her back. Then she had to fight back not rolling back her eyes and leaning back into his chest as Kallias wrapped his arms around his waist, hands caressing her stomach, thumbs tracing the spot right underneath her breasts.

She found it hard to speak.

“Who prepared this?”

Kallias leaned down, nose skimming her neck, and one of his hands gently pushing all her white hair over one side.

“I sent notice,” he murmured, placing one delicate, lingering kiss on her jaw, making her close her eyes. “I wanted to spend my first night back here.”

“You sent notice to someone else first?” She composed herself enough to say the words, yet her tone, intentionally playful, conveyed everything he was making her feel with those soft touches, gentle kisses. “If I hadn’t left my sword on that mountain, you would’ve been stabbed just for that one.”

Kallias answering chuckle was deep, almost rough. It sent a tremble down her legs. It made a warm feeling set on her core.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he said.

“So you were expecting this?” She said, turning slowly, lazily, in his arms. “How presumptuous of you.”

Kallias smirked down at her. “I was expecting to come back here on my own, beautiful,” he crooned. “Although I must say I’m very pleased with this turn of events.”

Viviane narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you?”

“Yes.”

“Look at me. And don’t laugh.”

He didn’t.

Viviane cocked an eyebrow. “Hm.”

Then, because she could, because she knew she had the upper hand – and would always have – she casually slipped from his arms. She could feel a growl forming deep in his throat as his instincts took over, as he sensed the evidence of her wanting him.

A chase - it was all a chase.

Viviane paced slowly around the room, not meeting his eyes, an air of innocent nonchalance about her and her movements. She slipped off her fur coat, and then she let it fall on the floor.

Kallias eyed it for a long second, and his fingers twitched.

She caught that movement too.

“Is this the way you attempt to bed all your other females?” She faced him then, her indicator slowly tracing the wooden bed frame.

Kallias watched the movement of her hand with a predator’s eyes.

“What other females?” He inquired.

“You tell me,” she smirked.

“No one but you and I has ever been in this room.”

“Is that so?” She quirked an elegant eyebrow, sitting on the plush mattress.

“Viv-“

“Yes?”

His jaw clenched. Viviane watched him intently, a wicked smile on her lips. Kallias wanted to rip his hair off.

“You’re cruel,” he whined. “You’re so cruel.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, waving her hand around.

Oh but she did.

She knew what he scented on her. For his nostrils flared and he ran a hand over his face, shaking his head.

He prowled closer, hands reaching out-

But then Viviane had her leg splayed out, her foot against his chest. And she said, “No. Not yet.”

He growled then, every part of his body screaming mine mine mine.

But Kallias stood down, watching her with almost a pained expression on his face.

Viviane blinked up at him, smiling. Slowly, she touched her blouse. Unbuttoning it slow, so slow.

“Let me do it,” he pleaded, fingers itching to just-

“No.”

He backed down immediately.

And she continued her movements, tempting him, as he had been tempting her for years. And despite his need, despite his desperation to claim her as his, Kallias knew this – the waiting – it wasn’t a punishment.

This wicked female would be the death of him. 

“Is this you telling me you want to bed me, Kallias?”

Her blouse was disregarded on the floor.

He looked down at her bare breasts, at her figure, and Kallias felt that tug again – that savage part of him wanting to devour every part of her.

And still, he stood his ground.

Then Viv got up from the bed and he thought yes, he thought finally, he thought he’d finally have his hands on her-

And then she undid the two buttons of her trousers and took off her belt. Took off her boots. He attempted to reach for her again, but she denied him permission once more.

She was going to kill him.

“Viviane.”

“Hm?”

“Please, please.”

“You haven’t answered my question, Kallias,” she crooned. Every gods-damned time she said his name in that tone…oh mother save him. “Do you want me?”

“Gods, yes.”

She smiled then – big and wide, cocking her head to one side as she slipped off her trousers, and underwear, at the same time.

She was perfection come to life.

Every inch of her – from the round breasts and big hips, to the soft contour of her milky thighs. He wanted to get his teeth on those thighs, memorize them from the inside out.

And still, she moved away from him.

“Viv,” he begged, his voice pained. “Please. Please let me touch you.”

She giggled. Cruel, so cruel, his female.

And instead of putting him out of his misery, she turned, giving him a nice view of her backside, and climbed into the bed.

Crawling.

Rutting gods.

And she laid back onto the big pillows, displaying her body for him, and running her hands through the fur blankets covering the mattress.

He actually snarled to himself.

Viviane tutted. “Kal,” she smiled. “You’ve waited fifty years, you can wait a few more minutes, can’t you?”

He’d do anything, everything, she asked him to do.

She had him wrapped around her little finger – and she liked that.

And hell, he liked that.

Then Kallias actually kneeled at the edge of the bed, hands grasping the mattress, as he took her in.

His eyes. They were wild. A beast clawing at his leash.

Viviane’s eyes were sultry as she murmured, “Are you mine, Kallias?”

“Yes.”

“Say it,” she commanded. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I’m yours,” he whispered, looking into her eyes. “Only yours. For as long as you want me.”

“And if I want you forever?”

“Then I shall forever be yours.”

The answered pleased her. Viviane smiled gently, stretching her legs out in front of her, her fingers clutching the blankets as she looked at him.

“Please, Viv,” he said. “Gods, you don’t know how much I love you. How you’re driving me mad.”

Her smiled widened. Then she said, so softly, “Come here.”

A beast tamed.

Kallias crawled onto the bed, eyes surveying her body as he did, hands shaking.

“You can touch me,” she said, lips caressing his jaw.

His hands met the curves of her body for the first time, delighting in her warmth, her softness. Just like he’d imagined – like satin. Smooth as ice.

Viviane gasped under his touch, as his hands made their way to the outside of her thighs, then under her backside.

She stared at him, marvelled at his fascinated expression, as he took her in. As if he couldn’t believe she was real. As if he couldn’t get into his head he was here, touching her, feeling her breathe against his skin-

“You know,” he said, his voice rough. He met her eyes. “I always wondered what noises I could make you do. How you’d sound with my mouth between your legs.”

Viviane took a sharp intake of breath, biting her lower lip and urging her body to keep still under his hands.

“Why are you still wearing clothes?” She asked, and made to take his tunic off-

But then he was naked. And his clothes were on the floor.

She frowned at him.

He smirked, “You wanted the privilege you took from me? Oh, my love…”

Kallias buried his face in her neck, placing a soft kiss where it made her squirm. But she wanted to look at him, and he wouldn’t let her-

“Keep still,” he said.

Damn him.

Her head tilted back to give him access to her neck, her throat. And the beast in him just wanted to sink his teeth into her flesh, mark her as his, have his scent mixed with hers-

And good gods. Her scent hit him like a slap in the face.

He wanted to taste every last drop.

His wicked hands spread her thighs to him, fingers tracing the inside slowly.

Viviane was now the one to clench her jaw. “Kallias.”

“Doesn’t feel good, does it?” He smirked, placing a gentle kiss on her nose. “I want to take my time with you, Viv. I want to love and get to know every inch of your body. Like I should have done decades ago.”

She trembled.

And she gasped once more as his hand dipped to where she wanted him most – exploring her as he watched her face.

Viviane’s hand wrapped around his neck, needing to hold on to him. His fingers circled that spot over and over, making sounds come out of her that she had never heard before. And she kept repeating his name in his ear, breathing it into his skin, begging him to never stop because she was almost-

And then he removed his hand.

She came back down from the sky.

And her eyes were daggers as they stared at him.

“What are-“

But then Kallias took his fingers and licked them. Slow. Watching her.

And Viviane could not take her eyes off him.

His blue eyes weren’t pale anymore – they were midnight blue. Dark. And hungry.

Instead of his fingers, Kallias decided to torture her with his mouth this time. At the first stroke of his tongue, Viviane took in a sharp breath, and her thighs closed over his head on their own. But Kallias did not stop. He gripped her legs, fingers digging into her soft skin, and opened her to him again.

She wouldn’t stay still.

But it was too fast for him – he wanted to keep hearing her and teasing her a little bit more.

So he took his mouth to the inside of her thighs, giving her the break she needed, and dragged his lips over the smooth skin.

She was begging him. And his blood was thrumming in his veins.

Mine mine mine.

Sharp canines traced her skin. He kept a leash on himself, restraining his needs, wanting to only give her what she wanted. But then Viviane looked down at him, rosy cheeks and parted lips.

She was panting, her fingers stroking his moon-white hair, legs shaking under his hands. She urged him to lift his head and look at her, and the sight alone made her want to unravel right then and there.

Then she saw the canines. Saw the way his eyes gleamed as he licked his lips.

“Do you want to bite me?” She asked, her voice lower than a murmur.

He took in her words, his fingers still gripping her thighs.

“I know what it means,” she said. “What it means for us.”

A pause. Then Kallias said, “Do you want me to?”

And Viviane bit her lip again – she would kill him.

A heartbeat later, she nodded. “I belong to you. Claim me.”

He thought he didn’t deserve her.

But still, he obliged.

Smiling wickedly to himself, Kallias kissed the most tender parts of her slow, raising his eyes to watch her throw her head back, enjoying the firm grip she had in his air, her nails dragging over his scalp.

He took and he took – until she was breathless and almost sobbing. Begging him to take more.

He did. He took it all.

With his mouth and fingers.

When she unravelled before him, Kallias traced his lips over her strong thighs, and without a second thought, his teeth sank into her skin.

Viviane cried out, her body shaking, her hands gripping the sheets, ripping them off without even noticing. And she rasped out his name again, and again.

She was thankful they were far away from the palace – she was thankful her screams could only be heard by the mountains outside. Because she was sure she had made that whole house shake.

Kallias placed one last soothing kiss on her tender skin, right over the teeth marks, his healing magic closing them instantly. He looked up at her.

She thought she might die.

Kallias moved up her body, lips memorizing every inch of her skin – as he’d promised – and stopped at the base of her throat.

“Let me touch you,” she whispered. “Let me-“

Kallias stopped her hand, gently gripping her wrist. “Not now, Viv.”

“So you get to touch me all you want,” she said, touching his chin, “and taste me all you want – you won’t let me do the same?”

“Later,” he said as he claimed her lips.

Viviane had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, tracing the muscles there as he moved, to position himself-

But she had other ideas.

Quicker than he could see it coming, Viviane pushed him down, climbing on top of him, a leg on either side of his body. She giggled at his stunned face.

“You’re cruel,” he repeated, shaking his head with laughter. “Always have to get what you want, uh?”

She shrugged, and a grin was all she offered him before taking in the sight in front of her.

He was sculpted by the gods.

Faint scars adorned his left shoulder – scars she knew and recognized. She traced them with her lips, so slow. Kallias breathed in deep, the feeling of her warm lips against his skin almost too much to bear at that moment. Other than that, he was not scarred, nor marked. Perfectly fine. Safe.

Viv lifted her head, placing a sweet peck on his lips before moving down his chest, taking in the most defined parts of his body, observing how his muscles flecked as she placed her lips in the middle of his torso.

His moans were music to her ears.

She planned on moving further down but then his hands were at her shoulders, and his breathing was haggard.

“Please,” he begged. “Please just-“

Viviane touched the hard planes of his chest, taking in the contorted features, the desperate eyes. And she thought that maybe she was done playing, and maybe she would be nice and give him what he wanted.

Just this time.

She guided herself down on him, slow. Viviane closed her eyes as his hands gripped her hips, helping ease her body. Kallias sat up, the new angle making it easier for both of them to feel comfortable.

Viviane let her forehead fall on his shoulder as he filled her up, a moan escaping her lips. It was too much, too much-

Then Kallias was guiding her hips at a slow rhythm, lips murmuring loving words and encouragements into her ear.

“That’s it,” he whispered breathlessly. “Slow. There you go, beautiful.”

Her fingers tangled in his hair, her thighs clenching around him. Kallias buried his face on her neck, his own hand at the small of her back, while the other remained tight on her hip, guiding them both.

But then Viviane pulled her face away, just slightly, and her eyes met his. She smiled, so wide, so beautiful, and touched her forehead to his – like he had that day in the mountain, where he thought he might’ve said goodbye to her, to the love of his life, forever.

And Kallias was struck with such emotion-

He could hardly breathe.

There was a tug deep within him – different this time. Gentler. It wasn’t the beast screaming at him to take the female he loved but-

Something else.

Like an electric current had gone through his veins. Like the world suddenly had started making sense. Like…like he had been split open and filled with happiness and a feeling of belonging.

Something snapped inside him.

And he was so overstruck, so completely taken aback, that he stopped, freezing in place.

Viviane had her hand on his chest, right where his heart lay, and she was staring at her fingers as if she couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

“Viv?”

She didn’t look up.

And where her hand touched – his skin seemed to throb. Like she’d burned him – but he wanted to keep burning. He wanted it.

His powers were out of his control – ice rose at the tips of his fingers, covering his hand, gentle dots of snow flying around them. And he couldn’t stop it, he didn’t know-

And then Viviane’s eyes snapped up at him, and in them he found his answer.

An answer that he had carried all the way into Under the Mountain.

An answer that they had both been confronted with, a long time ago.

A confirmation.

Viviane smiled, her eyes raised to the snow falling around them, to the pricks of ice covering Kallias’ fingertips. She raised her own hand, touching his – and the ice recoiled at her touch. Not afraid – calmed.

She looked up at him again. And she whispered the most beautiful words he had ever heard, “You’re my mate.”

His ice stopped. It was no longer falling.

And his heart thrummed inside his chest as that bond between them came to life. Like a rope that tied him to her forever. Like they were one single being.

Kallias’ eyes burned as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. And he whispered the words right back as he kissed the corner of her mouth, then the other, then her chin, and the tip of her nose. Gentle, loving, and patient kisses.

I’ve been waiting for you.

A flicker of love was sent down the bond – and he felt it. Right in his chest, like she’d thrown a heavy rock at him.

Light of my life.

“My mate,” he whispered. “You’re the one.”

She nodded. Her smile was the biggest he had ever seen. And her happiness – her happiness shone through him. He felt it. He knew it, like he knew his own.

They were one.

“You’re the one,” she said back.

“I love you,” he said.

And as he did, as he whispered the words over and over against her lips, his hands made to grab the fur blankets around them, pulling them over her shoulders, and over his. Cocooned in their little paradise.

“I knew it,” he whispered against her cheek. “I’ve always known.”

“Liar,” she grinned, touching his face. “You suspected. As did I.”

“I was 99.9% sure.”

“Hm hm.”

“I was!”

“Kiss me,” she pleaded, her words slow.

He did.

He did it once, and twice, and a third time, before moving his hips against hers. Viviane parted her mouth at the sudden movement, and then moved her own hips against his, their bond shining through, their happiness shining much more brightly.

She knew – they would not be leaving that house so soon.

And she had no complaints.

Not as Kallias pushed her down into the mattress with a cheeky, playful little smile on his face. Not as he rocked into her, again and again, and again. Not as he wrapped her legs around his waist and took everything she had given him.

Mate. Mate.

The word rang in her head, and she wasn’t sure if she was the one whispering it out loud, or if she was hearing him think of it, over and over.

When he rocked into her one last time, with one powerful thrust that had her legs shaking, Viviane shattered. Even after, she was clinging to him, keeping him close, keeping him inside, as she whispered loving words into his ear, telling him she would never let go. She would never let anybody take him away from her again.

“You’re mine,” she said, touching her lips to his.

Kallias breathed in, a smile coating his own lips as he repeated the words back to her, against her lips, “You’re mine.”

And as their hearts settled down, they lay next to each other, hearing each other’s breaths and heartbeats, they both sent the same feeling to each other – and they shined brighter than the pale moon outside.

I’ve been waiting for you.


End file.
